Trying To Remember"
by lorrie
Summary: Gage looses most of his memory after being attacked.
1. Default Chapter

The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Walker, Texas Ranger". The characters belong to CBS Productions, Top Kick Productions, etc., but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)  
  
  
"Trying To Remember"   
By: Lorrie  
  
  
Gage and Sydney had just returned from an eight-week undercover assignment where they had posed as husband and wife. Because of the details of the criminal's behavior, they had even staged a wedding, complete with pictures and a reception.  
  
"Here come the happy honeymooners." Trivette chided as Gage and Sydney walked into Company B Headquarters.  
  
Gage grinned from ear to ear. "Sorry to disappoint you guys but that was Mr. and Mrs. Coleton Bradwell, we're just Rangers Gage and Cooke. Right Syd?" Gage squeezed her hand.  
  
"Oh yeah," she replied enthusiastically and squeezed his hand in return, both knowing that they had loved the eight week set up and had finally gotten their feelings for each other out in the open.  
  
"Gage, Sydney, good work on the Wells case." Walker called out.  
  
"Thanks." They replied in unison.  
  
"I need you two to check out a warehouse of 5th for me. We're in the middle of trying to catch up with Wallace Tucker, he's wanted in connection with several bank robberies that have happened within the past five weeks or so." Walker handed Sydney the arrest warrant. "He's assumed armed and dangerous, so both of you be careful."  
  
"We will." Sydney said as they walked out the door.  
  
**********  
  
Gage and Sydney pulled up to the warehouse with no sirens, not wanting to forewarn Tucker. They drew their weapons and entered the building.  
  
Gage motioned for Sydney to go to the right as he searched the left side. They sweeped the first floor and found nothing. They then stealthfully made their way up the narrow steps to the second floor. Once again, Sydney took the right side as Gage took the left.  
  
Suddenly Tucker was right behind Sydney, he grabbed her around the neck with his big, strong hands and began to squeeze.  
  
Gage saw the attack on Sydney from across the room. He was on top of Tucker with three or four long strides and caught his head with a flying kick. Gage and Tucker scuffled while Sydney was still fighting for air, recovering from the attack.  
  
Sydney picked up her gun; by this time Gage and Tucker were by the front wall of the building. Sydney watched in horror as Tucker picked Gage up and threw him out the window like a rag doll. Tucker turned and smiled at Sydney, then ran across the warehouse and out the door at the back. Sydney thought about chasing him down, but knew he had too much of a head start on her and she needed to get to Gage.  
  
She looked out of the broken window and saw Gage laying face up on the top of the car they had arrived in. "Gage!" There was no answer, no movement.  
  
Sydney put her gun in its holster and quickly made her way outside. She scrambled to the top of the car and checked Gage's neck for a pulse. It was there, but weak. She grabbed her cell phone and called for help, then called Walker.  
  
**********  
  
"Sydney how is he?" Trivette asked as he and Walker entered the hospital and found Sydney sitting in the hallway.  
  
Sydney shook her head. "The doctor's still in with him."  
  
"What happened?" Walker asked. Sydney gave them her account of what went down at the warehouse. When she finished, the doctor stepped out of Gage's room.  
  
"Rangers, he's going to be OK. However, he's asking for his wife, Lauren and he insists that his name is Coleton Bradwell."  
  
"That was our last assignment, we just spent eight weeks undercover as the Bradwells." Sydney explained.  
  
"Well, that does explain a lot. Ranger Gage has what we call selective amnesia. I hope it's not too much of an imposition, Ranger Cooke, but it would be less traumatic to him if you go along with him for now."  
  
"OK. For how long?"  
  
"Hopefully his memory will return quickly. Most of our past cases have shown complete memory recovery with two to three weeks. He'll probably remember sporadically or even in dreams. Try to refrain from telling him too much at once, but if he asks questions, try to answer as truthfully as you can. Use your own judgment as to what you should tell him. Memory loss is traumatic, but sometimes recovering your memory is even more traumatic."  
  
"How so?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Just a quick example, let's say that you've had a very bad experience early in life, it could be a death, a bad situation, whatever but you've dealt with it and moved on with your life. A person with amnesia may only remember the bad experience and will have to put it behind them again." "  
  
Sydney nodded, "Can we see him?"   
  
"Yes, but remember, you're his wife and Ranger Walker and Trivette, there's a good chance that he won't know who you are." Walker nodded.  
  
They entered Gage's room. "Hi honey." Sydney said as she sat beside Gage.  
  
"Hey Lauren." Sydney leaned over and kissed Gage on the lips.  
  
Gage starred at Walker and Trivette. "Can I help you Rangers?"  
  
"We hope so. Can you tell us anything about what happened to you, Mr. Bradwell?" Trivette asked.  
  
"I wish I could, but I don't seem to remember anything right now."  
  
Walker smiled. "OK. If you do remember anything, please let us know, OK?"  
  
"You bet." Gage responded.  
  
"Mrs. Bradwell." Walker tipped his hat to Sydney.  
  
"Cole, I'm going to step out in the hall with the Ranger for a minute."  
  
"OK."  
  
"Walker, can we use the same safe house we were set up in last week?"  
  
"I'll make sure it's available. Sydney, if you need anything."  
  
"I know. Thanks. Right now I need to take care of Gage." Sydney returned to Gage's room.  
  
"She's good for him, you know?" Trivette said as they got into Walker RAM.  
  
"Yeah, I know and he's good for her too."  
  
**********  
  
Gage was released from the hospital the following day and he ad Sydney returned to the house that they had called home for the past eight weeks.  
  
"Man, it's good to be home." Gage started walking around the house trying to find something, anything to jog his memory. "It just doesn't feel right."  
  
"What doesn't?" Sydney asked.  
  
Gage picked up one of their wedding pictures. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. Please be patient with me, it's just so frustrating. I can't remember anything about my life except you and this house. I don't even remember our wedding."  
  
Sydney wanted so badly to tell him that even the memories he was taking comfort in weren't real, but she remember what the doctor had said about too much truth at once could possibly traumatize him further.  
  
"Why don't you rest and I'll get lunch ready?"  
  
"OK." Gage sat down and turned on the TV. A news report about Tucker came on. Sydney heard it and quickly called Gage into the kitchen.  
  
"Could you come here a minute? I can't reach a bowl I need."  
  
"Sure." Gage retrieved the bowl and handed it to Sydney, then put his arms around her and kissed her. "How long have we been married?"  
  
This question caught Sydney off guard. "A little over two months."  
  
"So, we're still honeymooners, um?"  
  
"I guess you could say that." Sydney smiled and gazed into Gage's eyes. Gage kissed her again.  
  
"Cole, I've got to fix lunch."  
  
"I'm not hungry, at least not for food." He smiled mischievously.  
  
"Cole. It's the middle of the day."  
  
"So?"  
  
"You were just released from the hospital, you're bruised up pretty bad and I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself more." Sydney tried to put him off.  
  
"I guess you're right." Gage released the hold he had on Sydney. "Do you need help with lunch?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"OK. I'm going to take a walk."  
  
"Be careful and lunch will be ready in about 10 minutes."  
  
End Pt. 1  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Trying To Remember - Chapter 2

The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Walker, Texas Ranger". The characters belong to CBS Productions, Top Kick Productions, etc., but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)  
  
  
"Trying To Remember" Part 2  
By: Lorrie  
  
  
Gage stepped outside. He starred at the outside of the house, the yard, the picket fence, nothing looked familiar. "This isn't right? It doesn't fit," he thought as he sat on the porch swing. "Why can't I remember the outside of the house and the yard?"  
  
Sydney opened the door. "Cole, lunch is ready."  
  
"Why don't we eat out here? Maybe a little picnic in the backyard?"  
  
"OK. I'll get a spread." Sydney came out a moment later with a large picnic blanket.  
  
"Lauren, can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure honey, you can ask me anything."  
  
"Something's not adding up here."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Are we happily married? I mean obviously we haven't been married very long, but something just doesn't feel right. It's almost like a hidden tension between us."  
  
"We've been very happy together. I wish I could just tell you everything I know about you, but your doctor said that would be the worst thing we could do."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You need to remember in the order that your mind wants to remember, not the way someone else would like to tell you."  
  
"I guess that makes sense." Thunder rumbled in the distance. "Looks like we're going to get a storm."  
  
"We'd better get this stuff inside."  
  
They began to take the food inside when suddenly the sky opened up and rain poured down, soaking them both. Sydney's summer dress was clinging to every curve of her body. Gage, overcome with desire, put his arms around her and kissed her hard and passionately. Soon they were on the ground where moments ago they had enjoyed their picnic.  
  
"Gage." Sydney whispered. He stopped.  
  
"Who's Gage?" Gage demanded as he sat up. Sydney bit her bottom lip. Gage got up and stormed inside. Sydney followed.  
  
"Cole, wait! Cole, you don't understand, let me explain."  
  
Gage stood in the doorway. "I'm listening."  
  
Sydney opened her mouth and then thought about what she was about to do. "Come here." Gage didn't move. "Please."  
  
He followed her into the bedroom; she pushed him in front of the full-length mirror. "Take off your shirt."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Take off your shirt." Gage took his shirt off. "Now, look in the mirror and tell me what you see."  
  
Gage looked in the mirror, he starred at the scars on his chest, and he traced the length of them with his fingers as memories flashed through his mind.  
  
"What do you see? What are you remembering?"  
  
"A bear! The woods. Those two Rangers from the hospital, they called me Gage." Gage looked at Sydney. "I'm Gage?" He paused. "But that's my last name. I don't like my first name very much, so I don't use it often. It's, it's . . . Francis." Gage said slowly and excitedly. He was beginning to remember.  
  
Sydney nodded. "You got it."  
  
"And your name's not Lauren. It's Sydney and I call you Syd. We're not exactly married either, are we?"  
  
Sydney shook her head. "No, not exactly, but that's enough remembering for now."  
  
"Too bad."  
  
"Too bad about what?"   
  
"That we're not really married." Sydney smiled.  
  
"I'm sorry Syd. Was that out there part of the act too?" Gage referred to their little escapade in the rain.  
  
Sydney shook her head. "No. I'm not that good of an actress."  
  
Gage kissed her again and gently pushed her towards the bed.  
  
**********  
  
Tucker met up with his partner Miles on the south side of Dallas. "Hey Tucker." Miles said. "There's a piece in the paper on your run in with those two Rangers."  
  
"Oh yeah? What is it, that Ranger boy's obituary?"  
  
"It says that Ranger ain't dead. He's lost his memory though."  
  
"Um. Maybe I better take care of him before his memory comes back."  
  
**********  
  
Sydney awoke to find herself alone in bed, where hours earlier she and Gage had made love. She got up and put on her robe. "Gage?" She called out. "Where are you?"  
  
"I'm in here." Came a voice from the living room.  
  
Sydney found Gage sitting on the couch, he looked as if he'd been crying. "Hey are you OK?"  
  
"What do you know about my childhood?"  
  
Sydney sat down and put her arms around Gage. "You've told me some things. Why? What do you remember?"  
  
"I know I have a sister, Julie. I remember being sad a lot and being hurt, beaten. Our parents must have been abusive."  
  
Sydney closed her eyes and swallowed. "Gage, your parents weren't abusive. I can tell you that much." She had tears in her eyes.  
  
"You can't stop there Syd, what else do you know?" Gage pleaded.  
  
"Gage, I'm afraid to tell you what I know. Your doctor said you need to remember at your own pace. Besides, you've never told me everything that happened to you after . . ." Sydney caught herself.  
  
"After what?"  
  
"I can't say." Sydney shook her head. "I'm sorry."  
  
Gage took a deep breath and put his arm around Sydney. "It's OK." He half smiled. "I understand."  
  
**********  
  
"Tucker, I think I overhear something about that Ranger fellow you hurt." Miles said as Tucker came back in.  
  
"What?"  
  
"He and that pretty Ranger lady are living together. I think she's taking care of him until his memory comes back."  
  
"Do you know where?"  
  
"Not exactly, but I think somewhere near Deer Run."  
  
"Let's take a drive over to Deer Run and see if we can find them."  
  
**********  
  
Gage and Sydney went back to bed. At 3:00 a.m., Gage woke up in a cold sweat and sat straight up in bed, shaking and rocking back and forth.  
  
"Gage? What is it?"  
  
"My parents are dead, aren't they?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Julie and I grew up in a group foster home." Sydney nodded.  
  
"I need some air." Gage got up. Sydney followed him out onto the front porch. He sat down quietly in the porch swing and Sydney sat down beside of him.  
  
"My foster parents, if you could call them that, were very abusive. Julie and I got beaten, al lot. Luke was a very angry man and a drunk. He laid around the house and expected us kids to do everything and when we didn't, he'd beat up on us."  
  
Gage continued. "You know, it's funny. I looked at my chest in the mirror yesterday saw the scars from the bear attack at Lake Ebby and I thought, man, that must have been the most physically painful event in my life. But now, I remember very clearly the most painful. Luke was angry about something I either had or hadn't done and he threw me down the basement stairs."  
  
Sydney had a horrified look on her face. "He threw you down the stairs? How old were you?"  
  
"We hadn't been there too long, so I was about nine, I guess. I broke three ribs, punctured my left lung, broke my right arm and had a concussion along with the other bruises on my back and head. I spent three weeks in the hospital."  
  
Sydney pulled Gage's head over onto her shoulder. "That's something about your childhood that you've never told me before."  
  
"I just don't like to think about it Syd. It's part of my life I just want to forget."  
  
"I think I understand what your doctor was talking about now."  
  
"Yeah, me too. Hey, It's cold out here, let's go back to bed." They walked inside and jumped into bed and snuggled to get warm.  
  
**********  
  
Tucker sat in his car across the street from the safehouse. "Gotcha!" He smiled as he headed back to Mile's house.  
  
**********  
  
Miles and Tucker returned to the safehouse about an hour later and jimmied the back door. They entered and quietly made their way to the bedroom.  
  
"Gage, Gage wake up. I hear something." Gage listened carefully and then quietly got up and grabbed Sydney's gun. He stepped out into the hallway and was greeted with a hard kick from Tucker.  
  
Gage recovered quickly and threw a few jabs and a couple of kicks to Tucker. Tucker, being a rather large man, wasn't too dazed by the hits he was taking from Gage. "I came to finish you off, boy."  
  
Sydney had her hands full scuffling with Miles. It was obvious that she was in better shape than he and she quickly subdued him and pulled out her handcuffs.  
  
Gage finally got the best of Tucker and finished him off with a hard kick to his chest, then cuffed him. He then looked up and smiled at Sydney. "I remember everything now."  
  
"You do?"  
  
"You're my partner, we're Texas Rangers. I remember Walker and Alex and Trivette and Erica, everything."  
  
Sydney smiled. "We'd better call Walker and Trivette and let them know we have Tucker and Miles."  
  
**********  
  
"It's good to have you back Gage." Walker said as Gage sat behind his desk, somewhere behind the mountain of paperwork.  
  
"It's good to be back. What is all of this?" Gage asked.  
  
"What's the matter Gage, don't you remember what paperwork looks like?"  
  
"Ha, Ha, very funny Trivette."  
  
"Sydney, can I see you in here for a minute?' Walker asked. Sydney entered his office.  
  
"So how is he? Really?"  
  
"He's good. I think he's recovered most all of his memory, both good and bad."  
  
"The bad is what had me worried. I know he didn't have the most pleasant childhood."  
  
"We've talked about that too."  
  
"Can I ask you something personal?"  
  
Sydney looked a little uncomfortable. "I guess."  
  
"Are you and Gage involved?"  
  
"Walker, he's my partner."  
  
"I know. Let me rephrase; How involved are you?"  
  
Sydney didn't even try to hide it. "I don't know yet."  
  
Walker nodded. "Good luck. The two of you are soul mates, you belong together, you know."  
  
"Thanks Walker."  
  
"Syd, you want to grab some lunch?" Gage asked.  
  
"Sure, Sydney grabbed her keys." Gage put his arm around Sydney as they left.  
  
"I wonder what exactly happened at that safehouse?' Trivette asked.  
  
"Probably the stuff memories are made of." Walker smiled. "Let's go get some lunch." Walker said.  
  
"Sure, if you're buying?"  
  
THE END  
  
  
  



End file.
